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First team All American, SEC defensive player of the year, team MVP, team leader. Now, Missouri defensive end has another title to his name; openly gay athlete. None of the four professional sports currently has an openly gay player amidst the ranks. Come April, after the NFL draft they will have one – Michael Sam. Projected as a linebacker in the NFL, Sam was viewed as a high draft pick. After he came out to the media on Sunday, his future is in doubt. One NFL executive has already stated that the NFL is not ready for an openly gay player. I think it is. The opinion of most NFL players is that a team mate’s orientation is not an issue, it’s what kind of player and team mate he is that counts. His peers at Missouri certainly didn’t seem to care; he came out to them last year, and was clearly a leader on an outstanding team with a ferocious defense. Michael Sam deserves to be drafted at the level that his talent and play indicate. He’s a tremendous player with football savvy, as well as a tough as nails demeanor. He’s going to be a hell of a player, and one of the 32 teams willing take a chance on him is going to be very grateful that they did. More importantly, he deserves a medal – a freaking medal of valor. He’s not only opening the closet door for himself; he’s kicking it down for other players who share his orientation. He’s a pioneer, he’s a hero. I will be following his career closely, and you can bet that I will become a fan of the team who drafts him.

Much love to you Michael Sam. You’re brave, as well as a true hero and role model. I wish you good luck and great success on this path that you’re your so valiantly embarking on.

I’m still around, but I’m finding little joy in blogging right now :( I lost my job back in August, and though I’ve been in the transportation industry for nearly 30 years, I still have not managed to find a job in my field. I had to settle for a cashier job at a local convenience store; I work for a third of what I used to make, and in spite of severe back pain, I have to remain on my feet for 8-9 hours a day with no break of any sort! To cut expenses, we moved to a trailer park, and we’re fairly miserable here. The park is filthy, and the trailer is in more disrepair than what we originally thought. We’ve done a lot to rehab the trailer and we’re pretty proud of what we accomplished. However, there is a lot more to be done, and we have neither the money nor the energy to do it. We’re broke, and both my partner and I have been very tired, in a lot of pain, and very depressed as of late.

On the bright side, we got back our health insurance on January 1st (Thank you ACA!), and my wife is now back on her very needed medications. I have a doctor’s appointment in mid-February, and I’m looking forward to renewing some vital medications that I used to be on. We’re both managing to eat healthy; my wife has lost 27 pounds, and I’ve lost about 40 :) I’ve also picked back up on doing my PT for my back, and it is doing a bit better.

In spite of all of the personal set backs, I’ve still managed to keep up on the political world. Chris Christie, has once again shown himself to be the vengeful asshole that we’ve all known him to be, and Ted Cruz is still a douche. The GOP still remains in the public eye as the disconnected, borderline sociopath party of no. In spite of getting trounced in last year’s election and ever declining popularity, the Republican party of religious elitist extremist seem hell bound on doubling down their message that unless you’re a white rich christian male, you’re of little use to them. However, we’re of great use to them; they divide us with their messages of hate and fear in order to make us hate each other. This is a very useful tool in the sense that it keeps the rest of us from uniting into one super group as it were, that could possibly wield a great deal of power, and dismantle the corporate and religious structure that continues to keep us among the “have nots”. The Republican party, with all of its religious dogma and corporate might has become indeed, the American Taliban. The 2014 elections are going to be a good marker to just how much the American people have grown tired of their shenanigans.

At any rate, I just wanted to let you know that I’m still around and I’m still writing occasionally. I’m going to try to write more, and I hope you will continue to visit my little corner of the world from time to time.

In closing, I want to share this Coca Cola commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. Apparently, the Tea-Billies are in quite the uproar over it.

I’m in the process of updating my blog roll, something I haven’t done in about a year and a half. If you’re following my blog, chances are pretty good that I’m following yours as well. Check out the list, and if you don’t see your blog, let me know. I would be happy to add it. Furthermore, if anybody know s of some good sites, let me know. I’m always on the look out for new stuff to check out!

You don’t need an assault gun with a grenade launcher to hunt deer or protect your home – please, shut the fuck up.

The Muslims and atheists are not coming to blow up your churches or rob you of your religion- please, shut the fuck up.

Gays and lesbians getting married do not rob you of your rights, nor do they violate the sanctity of marriage- please, pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top, shut the fuck up.

Obama is not a socialist, nor is he coming to take your big screen TV to give to a poor person. Corporate profits have soared under Obama- please, shut the fuck up.

Climate change is real, and this planet is in grave danger of dying – please, shut the fuck up: your blustering over cyclical temps is greatly contributing to our carbon foot print.

Obama is not out to steal your liberties: He’s too busy killing innocent people of color in third world countries with his killer robot planes – please, shut the fuck up.

Reagan and Bush spent way more, and contributed more to the deficit than Obama – please, shut the fuck up.

Supply side economics doesn’t work – please, shut the fuck up.

Women deserve to have control over their own bodies – please, take your patriarchal, misogynistic views, and shut that whole fucking thing down.

Getting more people to work is more important than austerity: More workers equals more taxpayers and consumers, which equals more revenue – Mitch please, shut the fuck up.

God is indeed in our schools: if a student so desires to bring god with him or her to school, she or he has every right to do so – can I get a please shut the fuck up?

Most people don’t want “gifts” from our government. What they want is a chance for a good education, a good job, and a good life – please, help yourself to a Mitt Romney sized cup of shut the fuck up.

Liberals are not some communist horde looking to tear down America. We simply want to level the playing field in order to make sure that everyone has a chance to work hard, and build America up – please, right wing pundits, shut the fuck up.

If I left any wing nuts out, don’t worry I’ll get to you – in the mean time have a seat in yonder corner, and SHUT THE FUCK UP!

A tip of the tinfoil hat to The Other 98% for sharing this. It would be nice to have a party of which corporations are not their most important constituents. Radical right or moderate right really isn’t much of a choice.